In an earlier season we had an opportunity to talk about the issue of Black rural farmers. Today, we are looking at farming with a more urban focus. Sustaining Black Food Sovereignty is our episode and our dynamic guest is Karen Washington. Karen is one of the four women founders of Rise & Root Farm in Chester, NY. The other founders are Jane Hayes-Hodge, Lorrie Clevenger, and Michaela Hayes-Hodge.
Before the farm Karen had a long history with urban gardening. She started with a community garden in an abandoned Bronx lot called Garden of Happiness. She and her fellow growers created locally based La Verde Market where their produce was sold. With the aid of New York Botanical Gardens community gardens began to appear throughout the Bronx and in other boroughs. They faced what could have been a crisis when when the Guiliani administration tried to snatch the gardens out from under the neighborhood growers. He wanted to sell the lots to developers. Karen helped form New York City Community Garden Coalition, a city-wide organization of urban growers that fought to protect and preserve their urban gardening space.
Black Farmers and Urban Growers
After doing a 6 month farming course at UC Santa Cruz, Karen’s desire to start a farm grew. She helped co-found Black Farmers and Urban Growers (BUGS) Conference to help enable Black farmers to convene with each other. The BUGS conferences started in 2010 and are still going. Black farmers can network, attend workshops, and commune with each other. In this way it helps to empower black farmers and help make them more resilient.
Working with Partners
The founders of Rise & Root understand that the farm is part of a cycle of sustainability. The farm just received its organic certification. Karen may no longer be in the Bronx but she remembers where she comes from. The farm provides starter seedlings for the urban growers in NYC through GreenThumb, New York. They partner with the Corbin Hill Food Project, which connects BIPOC farmers with a farm stand on Harlem’s Central Park. And they also provide fresh food to a youth center in the Bronx and a soup kitchen in Orange County.
We’re sure you’ll be totally energized and motivated after listening to Karen. Enjoy Sustaining Black Food Sovereignty.